A cat walks in

Last Friday a little black cat sneaked its way  inside the church where I worship. I'm not much of a cat person as much as my wife is but there was something about this cat that caught my attention. and made me think.

The cat was not afraid to come right inside church.

How many people have we ever invited to church and they come up with some excuse or the other? How many times have we felt that we'd rather stay home or go somewhere else instead of attending church? And yet, this cat just walked in because it wanted to come inside - probably because it was cooler or maybe because it felt comfortable inside. How many of us feel this way about church - do we see church as a place that provides shade from the stress of life? Or even as a place that provides comfort to our soul?

The cat was moving forward one pew at a time, taking a pause to look at people praying and then walking ahead and stopping again. The cat would just sit under the pew and then repeat this process all over again till it reached the front.

How many of us think of our walk with God as a journey that takes us forward, to a place of growth and maturity? We were never meant to stay at one place in our Christian walk, we were meant to grow and be more Christlike. And this growth can only be possible through prayer, reflection and fellowship. It is in the company of fellow saints and fellow sinners that we can find encouragement to move ahead in our Christian walk just the way the cat looked at some of the people in church praying, paused a little for reflection and then moved on ahead.

The cat wanted to be a worshipper because its ultimate aim seemed to be to head towards the altar area and join the worship team

How many of us prefer to be on the sidelines and allow others to do all the work for God? It might seem humble to take the backseat but if this 'backseat' also reflects the state of the heart and is a barometer of the passion we have for God then it's a problem. And yet, when we look at the cat's aim, we see that it wanted to  go right up in the front and join others in worshipping even though it lacked the means to do so but that didn't stop this cat. It just went ahead.

The cat was at home and we were the outsiders acting like we belonged there 

The church compound is home to this and other cats and a shelter from the big bad world outside that can be cruel to stray animals. How many of us think of church as our home, as our place, and feel a sense of belonging to it the way we do to the places where we live? The cat felt free to walk in and move around because this was not a strange place because it was home and that's why it felt free to walk around and move ahead. How many of us are encouraged in knowing that the church being our home and a shelter from the world also provides the springboard for our growth, maturity and deeper involvement in our Christian walk?

We were the outsiders thinking that the cat was at a wrong place and perhaps it was the cat thinking, who are these humans gathered together in my favorite space. When we look at each other in the congregation, how do we see each other? Do we see them (or even ourselves) as strangers who are in a place we shouldn't be? Or do we see each other as family members who are at home where we truly belong?